27 Apr

I’ll never forget a full moon ritual that I led a few years ago. It was not a shining moment as a Wiccan leader, not in the least. To start off, I almost poked two coven members in the eye with my smudging feather before the ceremony began. I then proceeded to call the corners starting in the West, something I’d never done, not even in my early days. During the actual ritual, I tripped a few times and then my notes caught fire toward the end!Some purists would gasp at the imperfection of this full moon ritual. However, I’ve had several coven members tell me it was one of their favorite ones. We all had a good laugh and felt the celebration of the event, rather than the rigid formality that so many people focus on.

This somewhat embarrassing event reminds me of the idea that magick is made by the spirit of our workings, rather than the external events and tools. They do help a lot’they add energy to our workings and attract what we want with sympathetic magick. However, if our heart and soul is not in the ritual or spellwork, we aren’t going to get the results that we want.

When you work with a coven, you have at least 12 other members to rely on for energy (sometimes more if your coven is informal and grows past the standard 13 members). This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t bring your energy to the altar. But it does mean that if you are having an off day and your heart and soul just aren’t into it, then you can add what you can and rely on the rest of the members to supply enough energy for the working.

However, if you are a solitary witch, it is totally up to you to provide the energy for your magick. This is why a lot of solitaries are very focused on the external tools and getting correspondences right. While there is nothing wrong with knowing which herbs do what and so forth, don’t get so caught up in the process that you forget about the most important magickal ingredient, you!

Magick requires confidence. Educate yourself enough so you feel confident as you step into the circle to perform your ritual. Stack the deck in your favor by gathering your necessary supplies and understanding the reason for the ritual. Planning your rituals can go a long way toward making you feel more comfortable in your magickal skin.

Make time for ritual at an appropriate moon phase and appropriate day. In the previous days to your working, think about what you want to accomplish and visualize it coming to you after you perform the spell. Prepare your body and your mind immediately before your working by taking a ritual bath. This step is important magickally, physically and psychologically to preparing yourself for the coming work.

Personal timing is just as important as planetary timing. If you don’t feel up to the magick, don’t perform the spell. Wait until another time when you are feeling more energetically balanced and when you can actually give something to the working. If you are sleepy, upset or indifferent in your ritual, you won’t have enough power to create the magick you wish to.

Of course, you can prepare yourself in all of these ways and still have the kind of ritual that I told you about, where everything goes wrong. But that’s fine. We all had fun and we all honored the Goddess. My coven and I understood that since we came to the altar prepared on the inside, it didn’t matter that the external things went a bit haywire. Just like your mother always told you, it’s what’s on the inside that counts.
Brightest Blessing,

Rose Ariadne, Your Warm And Caring “Resident Witch In Charge”

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20 Apr

You’ve learned what astral projection is and what it is not. I’ve also shown you how to improve your dream memory, and how to prepare yourself for astral projection. Before you start your experience, you’ll also need to relax before every OBE session.After you’ve settled yourself, cast your circle and light your incense, it is time to relax. As you are sitting, complete a basic centering and grounding exercise, as you would for any spell work or ritual. As you center, make your spine straight. When you ground, make a conscious effort to relax and allow all of your stress to drain way. Make a connection with the earth. Don’t worry about making your mind blank, or anything of that sort. Just relax. Remember that you need a particularly deep state of relaxation to achieve astral travel. If you have trouble relaxing, you may want to take some time studying self-hypnosis or other similar relaxation techniques.

When you are relaxing, make sure not to get too relaxed! The biggest danger in astral travel is falling asleep. For this reason, make sure to choose a time of the day when you aren’t too tired. Also, it is recommended that you sit instead of lie down for astral travel. This way you’ll be in a relaxed pose, but not one similar to your sleeping position.

You are now ready to begin your astral travel. Feel your body relax and close your eyes. Many people overcomplicate this part of the astral travel experience. It is really quite simple to get from your home to your astral temple. As you close your eyes, begin to visualize your astral temple surrounding you. See yourself sitting, just like you are now, in the middle of the temple. To beginner’s it may feel like you are pretending. For now, just ignore that feeling and follow the rest of the procedure.

With your physical body sitting and your physical eyes still closed, open up your astral eyes and look around. Look at your astral body by viewing your hands and feet. Feel the ground that you are sitting on in your astral temple. Take a look around. Notice what the temple looks like. Feel the temperature on the astral plane and sniff the air. Take note of what you are sensing. What do you smell? What do you feel? What do you hear?

Figure out which direction is East in your astral place. Note the position of the Sun and where it is in the sky. What time of day is it? Turn around slowly and get a 360 degree view of your astral temple.

For most beginners, this is enough for the their first time in the astral plane. Don’t try to do too much on this first try. Remember that you’ll be back often. When you are ready to return to the physical plane, sit back down in the middle of your astral temple and close your eyes. Begin to relax and then slowly count from one to ten. As you say each number, feel yourself becoming more alert and more aware. When you reach ten, open your eyes. Take a deep breath and stimulate your physical body by rubbing your hands together, touching your face and feeling the floor.

This first journey is just one of many to come. After you’ve visited your astral temple a few times and become comfortable there, the next step is to explore a bit. Wander around the astral and search for a type of terrain that doesn’t exist in your temple. For example, if your temple is near the ocean, look for a grove of trees. If it is in the high desert, search for water. You can pick anything you want to look for. You never know who or what you might encounter. This exploration phase is often where the themes and symbols from your personal dream journal come into play.

Another great part of astral travel is having the ability to meet the Deities face to face. Before you begin an astral journey, ask a God or Goddess to meet you there. You may only hear their voice or see a symbolic presence. You can also meet your animal guide on the astral. The Deities and animals guides have the ability to teach you many things while you are on this plane.

Astral travel is the perfect place for rituals, especially if you do not have the space and privacy to do them on the physical plane. Make sure to do rituals on a travel where you are not planning anything else. You should make your purposes in the astral plane singular and not try to pack too many activities in.
For more information on astral travel, there are several good books available. I recommend any of Robert Monroe’s books. I encourage you to try astral travel at least once. I’m sure you’ll be glad that you did.
Love And Light,

Rose Ariadne, Your Warm And Caring “Resident Witch In Charge”

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13 Apr

Last time we discussed how to improve your dream memory. This is all part of getting to know your personal dream patterns. Once you learn these, you can begin to control your dream state and move from basic dreaming into astral projection. Religions all over the world have used astral projection for greater spiritual understanding, and I’ve found it to be an important part of my study of this path.Astral projection for Wicca is different that types of OBE practiced in other cultures and religions. The purpose of astral projection in Wicca is for meditation, meeting the Deities, solving problems, performing rituals and learning about nature and life.

I must state again that astral projection is not dangerous or complicated. It doesn’t involved being at the mercy of other beings, and the process of projecting yourself onto the astral place is very safe and simple. OBE encompasses the same type of physiological processes that occur during day-dreaming, hypnosis, meditation and trance. I must stress that it you have any fear about trying astral projection, it is not the right thing for you to do at the moment. You should enter this practice when you feel comfortable with the idea of it. Lay off trying for a while, if you are fearful, and come back to it again when your life is at a different point.

Your astral journey should always begin and end with your astral temple. This place should be the first stop in your journey into the astral plane. Your temple is up to you to choose. It can be somewhere you have been and felt totally at peace, or maybe a place from a movie or book that struck a chord with you. You can also invent an astral temple of your own design. Where ever your astral temple is, it should have three basic qualities. It should be beautiful. It should make you feel safe and secure. And finally, you should be free from interruption. For example, you wouldn’t want to make your astral temple a crowded stadium or busy street corner.

If you are choosing a real place for your astral temple, try to obtain a picture of it to study. If your astral temple is out of your imagination, you can make a sketch of it or develop details in your mind’s eye.

Your astral journey should begin with your physical body is a safe and quiet place. Pick a place and time to start your projection when you won’t be disturbed. If you like, you can cast a circle before you begin your astral travel to protect yourself. I’ve found this practice to be helpful in my ability to relax and really “get into” the experience. You’ll need at least 15 minutes for the exercise, but setting aside an hour is much better.

Please note that it is not in any way dangerous to be disturbed when you are experiencing an OBE. Hollywood has made a mockery of the realities of hypnosis and astral projection techniques. I always make sure the time will be undisturbed because being interrupted is annoying, not dangerous.

Prepare yourself by also wearing comfortable clothing that won’t disturb you. You may also dim the lights and light some incense. Choose a scent that is associated with Out of Body experiences. You can find blends in astral projection books, or you can purchase them from an occult shop. Its important to use the same type of incense each time you perform your OBE. The scent will help your brain synthesize the astral experience.

In the next message, I’ll explain how to continue the astral projection experienced.

Until then, blessed be!
Brightest Blessing,

Rose Ariadne, Your Warm And Caring “Resident Witch In Charge”

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06 Apr

Today I’d like to delve into a practice that is not necessarily only a part of Wicca. Astral projection is a popular area of general occult studies, including the New Age movement. Astral projection is sometimes also referred to as an out of body experience or OBE. It describes the process of traveling to other worlds and placed while the physical body is asleep. Astral project is by no means dangerous, it is as safe as taking a nap. Many of us already practice OBE without realizing it and just chalk them up to dreams.The reason astral projection isn’t explored more is because it can be difficult for many people. The main obstacle to overcome is forgetting your dream before waking up. Practicing OBE successfully requires work and dedication. But the results are well worth it.

The idea of astral projection is very ancient. For example, Tibetan monks have a system of yoga that is based on astral projection. In fact, the ancients believed that every form of dream was actually an OBE to some extent. The main difference between regular dreaming and complete astral projection is that with the latter you have better control over the circumstances and more complete memory of the events.

Your dreams function as the door to your subconscious. Astral projection allows you to use this doorway to effect your subconscious for psychological and spiritual insight. Have you ever noticed that your dreams are influenced by the sounds and sensations that you experience while you sleep? I’ve had dreams that I was in a snowy Artic terrain on very cold nights. Or my husband’s snoring has entered my dreams as an unearthly growl from some unknown beast. Dreams are also influences by the day’s events, your psychological state and pre-sleep suggestions.

To practice OBE, you first need to understand how we dream. Everyone dreams 4 to 5 times per night, and your dreams occur every 2 hours. Your longest and most detailed dreams occur in the morning hours and you are more likely to remember these dreams than the ones from earlier in your sleep period. Your memory of your dreams is best when you first wake up.

You can improve your dream memory and prepare yourself for practicing astral projection by keeping a dream diary. When you wake up, write down as much as you can remember about the details of your dream. Concentrate on people, places and feelings involved. Make sure to keep paper and a pen or a recorder near your bed. You’ll also want a bedside light that is not too bright.

Before you go to sleep, suggest to yourself that you will remember the dreams you will have. Upon waking up, don’t hop right out of bed. Move quietly and smoothly to obtain your recording devices and recall then record your dream. Add as many details as possible. The more you begin to wake up and move, the more you will lose of your dream.

The next day, read over your memory of the dream and see if you can expand upon your notes. Ask yourself, what happened before that? and try to retrace the “plot” of your dream. Once you start remembering your dreams and practicing this method, your memory will become better. Its important to take as many notes as you can during this process. It may seem tedious, but it will have a lasting impact on your ability to control your dreams in the future.

You may start to notice themes develop as you record your dreams. Take note of any symbols that reappear frequently in your dreams, as they may be important in future sessions.

In my next message, I’ll delve further into this important spiritual practice. For now, take these beginning steps toward improving your dream memory.
Love And Light,

Rose Ariadne, Your Warm And Caring “Resident Witch In Charge”

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